If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Feds downplay number of vehicles affected, while reports says number is much higher

Dozens of vehicle makes and models on list of cars with counterfeit air bags

Federal safety regulators warned car owners Wednesday that they may be driving with dangerous counterfeit airbags if they have been replaced in the past three years.
The fake bags, which investigators have traced to China, might not deploy in an accident or could explode, sending metal shrapnel into the vehicle's passenger cabin.

Only 0.1 percent of vehicles in the U.S. are believed to be affected, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement.

However, according to one report, industry officials briefed by the government said tens of thousands of car owners may be driving vehicles with counterfeit air bags.

NHTSA testing has shown most of the counterfeit bags don't inflate or fail to inflate properly.

In at least one case, a counterfeit bag fired shards of metal shrapnel on impact, the agency said.

No deaths or injuries have been tied to the counterfeit bags, NHTSA said. But it's unclear whether police accident investigators would be able to identify a counterfeit bag from a genuine one, industry officials said.

NHTSA has compiled a list of dozens of vehicle makes and models for which counterfeit air bags may be available, but the agency cautioned that the full scope of the problem isn't clear yet and the list is expected to "evolve over time."
If a car is on the list and has had its air bags replaced during the past three years by a repair shop other than a new car dealership, NHTSA is asking owners to bring the vehicle into a dealership to be inspected at their own expense to determine whether the replaced air bags are counterfeit.

Fees for checking out air bags could run $100 or more, industry officials said. Some types of cars have as many as eight air bags......

MORE AT THE LINK

float like a butterfly...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
highly functional, paranoid, tinfoiler
currently in charge of the aluminatorium

Nissan recalls Altima sedans

Nissan Motor Co is recalling 13,919 of its top-selling Altima sedans in the United States because bolts that may not have been tightened properly during production could fall off, increasing the risk of a crash, according to U.S. safety regulators.

The Altima sedans are from the from the 2012 and 2013 model years and were made at the Nissan plant in Canton, Miss., from May 10 to July 26, Nissan North America told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

"Some of the subject vehicles may have been manufactured with four transverse link bolts and two power steering rack bolts that were not torqued to the proper specification," Nissan told regulators in a letter NHTSA showed on its website.

As a result, the bolts may shake loose during driving, the letter states, and drivers may notice rattling noise.

There was no mention of any injuries or crashes as a result of this issue on the NHTSA website.

Through September, in the U.S. market, 27 percent of the vehicles Nissan sold were Altima sedans.

Altima sales through September were up 17 percent from last year, at 234,040.

Altima owners will be asked to bring their cars into Nissan dealerships, where the bolts will be torqued to the proper specification, NHTSA said. The cars are under warranty protection.

"Based on engineering judgment, it was determined that if a loose bolt falls out completely, the driver may experience difficulty in controlling the direction of the vehicle," Nissan told NHTSA.

Nissan said that on July 26, the last day the vehicles involved in the recall were produced with the potential problem at the Canton plant, workers noticed the issue during a routine test.

On September 21, Nissan confirmed that some of the subject vehicles were at its dealers. On October 3, it decided a safety defect existed and a recall would be conducted.

LG Electronics recalls about 161,000 electric ranges in U.S.

SEOUL, Nov. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korean consumer electronics giant LG Electronics Inc. has begun a voluntary recall of about 161,000 electric ranges in the United States, an official said Sunday.

The move comes after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, an independent federal agency, posted the recall on its Web site last week, citing burn and fire hazards to consumers.

The U.S. product safety regulators said that LG Electronics has received 80 reports of incidents involving burners failing to turn off or the temperature setting increasing unexpectedly during use, though no fires or injuries have been reported.

The recalled products made by LG Electronics' units in South Korea and Mexico were sold in U.S. retailers, including Best Buy, Home Depot and Sears, from January 2006 to June 2010 for between US$800 and $1999, according to the U.S. product safety regulators.

The commission advised customers to stop using the product and contact the company for a free in-home repair.

An official handling the case for LG Electronics' headquarters in Seoul said that the company's U.S. unit has begun a recall to replace parts for free of charge.

Still, she said she had no information on how many electric ranges have been recalled so far. She asked not to be identified because she was not authorized to speak to media.

Toyota to recall 2.7 million cars worldwide

Toyota has said it will recall 2.7 million cars worldwide because of problems with the steering wheel and water pump system.

The recall affects nine models, including the Toyota Corolla and the second-generation Prius.

It comes four weeks after the firm recalled more than seven million vehicles worldwide, including some Corolla and Camry models, over faulty window switches.

Toyota is Japan's biggest carmaker.

Joichi Tachikawa, a spokesman for Toyota, told the BBC that the problem with the steering wheel was to do with "insufficient hardness of the steering shaft".

He explained that due to this, the splines which connect the extension shaft to the gearbox may deform if the steering wheel is "frequently and forcefully turned to the full lock position while driving at a very slow speed".

"This may create an increased backlash and the splines may eventually wear out over time, which could result in loss of steering ability," he added.

However, Mr Tachikawa said that no accidents due to this fault had been reported so far.

Toyota recalls 160,000 Tacoma trucks in N.America

Toyota Motor is recalling 160,000 pickup trucks in the US and Canada as their spare tires could fall from their holders.

The Japanese automaker said on Wednesday the affected model is the Tacoma pickup produced for North America between 2001 and 2004.

Toyota has recalled 150,000 Tacomas sold or registered in 20 northern US states including New York and Ohio, as well as Washington DC. About 10,000 units sold or registered in Canada are also subject to the recall.

The manufacturer says salt used to melt snow on roads may corrode metal parts that hold spare tires under the truck bed. The parts may not have adequate corrosion protection.

Toyota says a couple of owners have reported accidents involving the tires, but no one has been injured.

NOTICE: The Tree of Liberty is an Internet forum for discussion of current news, national, and world events. The opinions posted do not necessarily represent those of Tree of Liberty, LLC (the owner of this website), the staff or the site's host. Responsibility for the content of each post rests solely with the Individual Member making them. Neither Tree of Liberty LLC, the Staff, nor the site's host shall be liable for any content. All original member content posted on this forum becomes the property of Tree of Liberty,LLC for archival and display purposes on the TheTreeofLiberty.com website venue. Said content may be removed or edited at staff discretion. The original authors retain all rights to their material outside of TheTreeofLiberty.Com website venue. Publication of any original material from TheTreeofLiberty.Com on other websites or venues without permission from Tree of Liberty LLC, or the original author is expressly forbidden.